


Aftermath

by tfloosh



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: F/M, Post-Game, Sorry Not Sorry, this is kinda cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 09:59:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11273181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tfloosh/pseuds/tfloosh
Summary: Link walked through the gates of Castletown. He had tried to return to his normal life as a goatherd in Ordon Village, but he couldn’t get his mind to settle down. Eventually Mayor Bo and Rusl had pulled him aside and questioned if he was happy staying in the village. Link was surprised to find that he truthfully was not. So, he had made arrangements to move to Castletown.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Zelink Week way back in 2015. I'm still not happy with it tbh, but whatever.

“I’ll…see you later.”

Link saw the tear reach the Mirror of Twilight. It cracked as if in slow motion, and Link, feeling as if he were stuck chest deep in quicksand, reached out for his friend. Midna couldn’t leave like that; no, he had to stop her somehow. But it was too late. He blinked, and she was gone, and the Mirror of Twilight shattered into a thousand pieces.

He stood silently with Princess Zelda for a minute. She was probably shocked as well, but Link felt selfish enough in that moment to only care about his own feelings.

“What will you do now, Hero?” she finally asked after a lengthy silence.

“I don’t know,” he replied. Link had never really thought about life after his adventure. If anything he needed to get the children back to Ordon Village, but after that, he didn’t know.

“Will you go back to your home?” she asked softly. “Or if you’d like, you could return to Castletown with me.”

Link finally turned his gaze to the princess. Her eyes shimmered slightly, as if she had been crying, and she wore a small, almost hopeful, smile. Why would he go to Castletown? He just wanted his life to return to normal.

“I think I will return to my home village,” Link looked to the south across the sand as if he could maybe see the small village from his vantage point atop the Arbiter’s Grounds. “There’s something I need to take care of first.”

“If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask,” Princess Zelda said, her voice evening out and returning to the stricter tone of business. “And there will always be a place for you in Castletown if you want it.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Link smiled. “I will surely remember that.”

* * *

 

Link walked through the gates of Castletown several months later. He had tried to return to his normal life as a goatherd in Ordon Village, but he couldn’t get his mind to settle down. Doing next to nothing after months of traveling all across Hyrule had been hard. He was lonely without anyone to really talk about his adventure with, and the only person he could think to talk with was Princess Zelda. He always blushed just thinking about the beautiful princess, though. Eventually Mayor Bo and Rusl had pulled him aside and questioned if he was happy staying in the village. Link was surprised to find that he truthfully was not. So, remembering Princess Zelda’s words after Midna had left, he had made arrangements to move to Castletown. He didn’t know what he would do once he got there, but he thought it would be better than being bored out of his mind watching goats all day.

He received a warm welcome from Telma when he walked into her bar. Link told the barmaid about his uneventful life and how he decided to come back to Castletown, and she caught him up on the happenings of the town. Princess Zelda’s coronation was coming up and invitations to the ceremony and ball afterwards would be sent out sometime this week. They continued to talk about everything and nothing, and Telma offered him a job at her bar if he couldn’t find anything else in the city.

Eventually they were interrupted by the postman, who gave Link a rather large envelope before retreating to his usual corner and muttering about food. Much to Link’s surprise, the envelope contained an invitation to the coronation and a small note from the princess. He felt his face heat up.

“Ooo, is that what I think it is, honey?” Telma fixing Link an excited gaze.

“Yeah,” he smiled nervously and felt his face heat up even more. “But there’s also a note.”

“Well read it,” Telma said eagerly. Link skimmed through the letter quickly then reread to make sure that’s what it really said.

“She wants me to come to the castle for lunch sometime this week,” Link said softly. He tried to hide his face with the parchment when he felt the tips of his ears go red. The beautiful princess of Hyrule wanted to have lunch with him.

“You should go, honey,” the barmaid smiled knowingly. “It’s not every day the future queen of Hyrule sends out lunch invitations you know.”

Link nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and penned down a reply.

* * *

 

The next day, Link took more time than usual to get ready in the morning. He wanted to impress Princess Zelda. She was so elegant and graceful; he didn’t want to appear as the uncultured country bumpkin he knew others might see him as. He decided to wear his Hero’s Clothes, which had been thoroughly washed and mended after his adventure, hoping they would give him confidence.

Link tried not to appear too nervous when walking through the castle gates. He was escorted into the first entrance chamber, and he nostalgically looked up at the many chandeliers, fondly remembering hanging off of them with his clawshots. The princess was waiting for him off to one side.

“Good afternoon, Hero,” she smiled and led him to a small dining room. Link couldn’t help but stare at the stunning princess. She was in an elegant red dress that had a simple gold chain belt that was held together with a Triforce shaped clasp. Her auburn hair was pulled up with gold ribbons and curled so the ringlets cascaded down her back.

“I was surprised to hear you had returned, Hero,” she gave him a small smile as the servant pulled a chair back for her. Link felt his face begin to heat up, but he forced himself to calm down. He held the Triforce of Courage; Goddesses knew he should be able to get through a normal lunch with the princess without embarrassing himself.

“Please call me Link, Princess,” he gave her a slight half smile and sat down across from her.

“Only if you call me Zelda,” her eyes gleamed in a way he could only call mischievous.

Link’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected this but decided to go along with it, “If you wish, Zelda.” His grin grew wider. If he didn’t know any better, he might have thought the princess was flirting with him.

“So what has brought you to Castletown, Link?” she asked, thoroughly confusing Link by quickly returning to business mode.

“I tried to go back to my normal life, but I couldn’t,” he explained. “I changed too much during my adventure.”

“I understand,” Zelda nodded as another servant brought out bowls of soup. She nodded politely to the servant. “So what do you hope to do in Castletown?”

“I’m not entirely sure yet,” Link shrugged. “Telma offered me a job at her bar, so I might take that until I find something better.”

“If I may,” Zelda began with a small smile. “With your experience, you could easily do well as a soldier. We lost many of our best men during Zant’s invasion, including my own personal guard.”

Link took a bite of soup to hide his nervousness. He had really wanted to stay away from using a sword to earn money here, but he had to admit he wasn’t much experienced in any other trade.

“The reason I am bringing this up is my privy council,” Zelda continued. “They insist I reinstate a guard, and I know none of the soldiers enlisted now have what it takes to keep up with me.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously again. “If you were to join the Hyrulean Army, Link, I would be able to guarantee you a position as my personal guard.”

“Why me?” Link asked incredulously. The princess remained silent while the next course was brought out.

“After everything that has happened, you must feel lonely,” Zelda said, her eyes clouding over with hidden emotion. “Only we know the whole truth about the invasion and the Twilight world, and until now, we have been unable to talk about the war.” Her eyes suddenly lightened as she looked across the table to Link. “And I know first-hand that you are quite a capable warrior. I wouldn’t have anyone else as my personal guard.”

Link mulled the offer over as he continued to eat. It certainly was an amazing offer. He would be an idiot if he didn’t accept it, but it was such a huge step. Being the personal body guard to the future queen of Hyrule would be a huge responsibility.

“Are there any contingencies to this job?” Link asked as their plates were cleared. “Like anything I have to do?”

Zelda’s demure smile returned, “I would like to give you a knighthood and publically recognize you as the Hero of Twilight.”

Link cringed; that was such a ridiculous sounding title. The look in Zelda’s eyes seemed to say this was non-negotiable, however. Link sighed. As if he could say no to the princess.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Link said with a smile.

* * *

 

Link stood behind the queen’s chair in the privy council trying his hardest not to fall asleep standing. The meeting had mostly been spent settling the details for Zelda’s twenty-first birthday celebration that would take place three months from now. Link didn’t understand why they needed to have a council meeting to plan a party so far in the future, but he didn’t question it. After almost two years of being Queen Zelda’s personal guard, he was somewhat used to these occurrences.

His mind began to wonder. The kids from Ordon Village had visited Castletown last week, and Link had taken a couple of days off to show them around. His thought turned to those two days of fun before he was interrupted by a slight cough.

“Excuse me,” the queen apologized. “Link, could you fetch me a glass of water?”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Link bowed and left the council chambers. However, he sent a servant to fetch the water in his stead. It wasn’t that Zelda actually wanted a drink, this was their signal for when the council wished to discuss something privately with the queen that she wished for Link to overhear. He leaned against the door to listen in.

“Now Your Majesty,” one of the older lords began. “We think it is about time you consider marriage.”

Link heard silence next. He knew Zelda was withholding her opinion of the proposition until her council members revealed everything they wished to say about the subject.

“As a council,” the old lord continued. “We also agree that in the current climate it would be beneficial if your future husband was a native Hylian.”

‘So they wanted her to marry one of the young, wealthy lords,’ Link thought. He frowned slightly and continued to listen.

“We have discussed this thoroughly with the nobles,” the old lord said. “And they agree that the Hero of Twilight, Link, would be the best choice as your husband.”

Link gasped, and the servant returning with the cup of water stared at him. He cursed silently and took the water. He and Zelda had discussed this situation many times since they confessed their feelings for each other almost a year prior, but they never considered that the council would actually choose Link as a suitor.

“You would really approve of Link as your future king?” Zelda asked evenly.

“No,” one of the other lords answered. “As a commoner by birth, we believe it would be more prudent to give Link the title of Prince Consort should you marry. In that context, he could continue to act as your personal guard, and you could continue the royal line.”

Link almost broke into a happy dance. The privy council didn’t even want him to be king; could this be any more perfect?

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Zelda said monotonously. “I will think upon what you have said. You are dismissed.”

Link took that opportunity to open the door and pass the leaving lords. He gave Zelda her water and waited behind her until the last lord had closed the door to the council chambers behind him.

Zelda let out a deep breath, “Can you believe that, Link?”

“I honestly can’t,” Link smiled and sat down in the chair next to hers. He took her hand in his. “Zelda, they approve, and they suggested the title of Prince Consort. I wouldn’t have thought this would happen in my wildest dreams.”

“Neither would I,” her eyes gleamed just like they did when he first agreed to be her personal guard.

“We’re going to be married,” Link smiled.

“I know, my love.”


End file.
